Cal fires head coach Sonny Dykes, players apparently found out on Twitter
Cal has fired head football coach Sonny Dykes, the school announced Sunday. Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports first reported the news.
Dykes accumulated a 19–30 record in four seasons with the Golden Bears. They went 1–11 in his first year in charge in 2013 and 5–7 in 2014 and 2016. Led by quarterback Jared Goff, the eventual first pick in the NFL draft, Cal went 8–5 in 2015 and won the Armed Forces Bowl over Air Force. It was Cal’s first eight-win season since 2009 and its first bowl win since 2008.
Dykes, 47, joined Cal after three seasons at Louisiana Tech, where he went 22–15. He was previously the offensive coordinator at Texas Tech and Arizona.
Several players said that they first learned of the school’s decision to fire Dykes on Twitter.
“Coach Dykes clearly built up our program—both on the field and in the classroom—and he leaves Cal in a stronger position than when he arrived,” athletic directore Mike Williams said in a statement. “For that alone, he deserves credit and our thanks. After our bowl win last season, we showed our commitment to him with a contract extension. But after looking at a number of factors after the end of this season, I felt that we needed a change of direction for the good of our student-athletes and our program.”
Cal hopes to have Dykes’s replacement in place by the end of the week, Feldman reports.
